with that knowledge since it’s part of what he has against us.”
“Why is it still a secret?”
His grey eyes pinned mine. “She was a slave. Think on that for a second. Here. Unwillingly. A trafficked woman. Is that something you want the world to know?”
I was beginning to hate this fucking family. Hate my role in it. “So, who is she?”
He stilled, lips pulling into a thin line before he answered, “That, I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I swore not to,” he yelled. “I may have done a lot of dishonest things in my life, Callan, but when I swear to something, I stick by it. And it’s seriously pissing me off that you keep assuming I’m doing anything but protecting this family. You’ll break every bone in my body? Are you fucking kidding me? Why? I’m not the fucking threat you should be worried about. I’m the man dealing with this shit so you don’t have to worry about it. All you’ve ever cared about is those fights, so who the fuck do you think is running things in the background?”
Our eyes locked as his face tinged red with anger, but the fact he met my stare made me stop to consider he might not be lying.
He wasn’t wrong to accuse me of being willfully blind either. Up to the day Lisbeth reappeared, I didn’t give much of a shit about anything beyond the fights. But now I had something to protect, something that meant enough to me that I would tear down the fucking world if that’s what it took to protect it.
I gave Franklin the benefit of the doubt. But it was the last time. “Who’s the woman in Moritze’s house?”
“A friend of Gretchen’s,” he spat as he turned to pour another drink at the bar, the soles of his shoes grinding the glass of his first against the marble floor.
“She works for Moritze as a maid and has been trying to find where he keeps the information he has on us.”
Ice clinked in his glass as he slammed his drink before quickly pouring another.
“As soon as she has it, I’ll let you know so you can kill that son of a bitch. Patiently,” he mocked. “Snapping every bone in his body.”
My mouth twitched at the tone in which he’d repeated my threat.
He turned back to me.
“So, there you have it.”
Folding my arms across my chest, I searched his face for any sign of deception. He was more annoyed than anything, angry. But nothing else.
“Will you tell Lisbeth the truth now that you know it? Would you do that to her?”
It was a good question, one I didn’t know the answer to just yet.
“I’ll let you know when I decide what to do with it.”
Franklin stared at me for several seconds before saying, “It would only frustrate her to find out. Her mother had no interest in knowing her. She was happy to give Lisbeth up so that she could live a better life than that of a whore’s daughter. Think about that before storming out of here half-cocked.”
I nodded, a heavy breath pouring out of me. “Like I said, I’ll let you know.”
Franklin took a sip of his drink and left my statement to hang between us.
Regardless of what I would do, I decided to let it go for tonight. Although Jacob promised to keep an eye on Lisbeth, I didn’t trust him not to let things go too far just for the entertainment. He was as wild as Haley.
“I should go.”
I moved to leave the room, but stopped before fully exiting the door. Glancing back, I caught Franklin’s stare.
“I meant it about one more lie, Franklin. If there is anything else, you should let me know now. And as for your spy, I want to know everything she tells you immediately. Do you understand?”
He nodded, his throat moving to swallow. “Fine, but do me a favor next time you get the idea I’m the bad guy again.”
My head tilted, voice quiet.
“Just punch me and get it over with. It’s a hell of a lot less disturbing than having your dick pressing to my ass.”
A bark of laughter shook my shoulders. “You’re not pretty enough to get me hard, Franklin. You have nothing to worry about there.”
“Prick.”
Smiling at the word, I left the room, my steps heavy down the hall now that I was carrying the weight of a secret I wasn’t sure Lisbeth should ever find out.
Lisbeth
Sneaking away from the party, I walked into the back